I have gutted out a bunch and last year I bought a "butt out" tool. It works excellent and makes the job a lot easier. That was the hardest part of the job for me as by the time I got that far I'm tired of bending over, my back hurts and my glasses are fogged. Getting old I guess.

One other bit of advice is have a good knife. I enclosed a picture of mine, it's shaving sharp and light and easy to handle.

The final and most important bit of advice I can offer is once you are ready to begin, take a deep breath, relax and slow down as the animal is down. Carefully proceed

Attached Files:

Thanks to all for your suggestions. Now I need to get some good cutlery
and plunge in.

One last question. I know it's important to keep the meat clean but why all the extra caution about hair on the meat? Other than being something you don't want to eat, does it spoil the meat in some other way?

Thanks to all for your suggestions. Now I need to get some good cutlery
and plunge in.

One last question. I know it's important to keep the meat clean but why all the extra caution about hair on the meat? Other than being something you don't want to eat, does it spoil the meat in some other way?

John

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I don't know if hair spoils the meat any faster than anything else but it can contain bacteria and that is never good around meat. I think the worst thing about the hair is that it is nearly impossible to get off once you get it on the meat. Cleaner is definatly better when it comes to processing your own meat. I have only had one deer processed be a butcher in the last 15 years. All the others I have done myself and I have never had any problems with spoiled meat. I always try to skin and quarter the deer as soon as possible after the kill and I get the meat on ice or in the fridge ASAP. Those two things will do more for the quality of the meat than anyting else you can do IMO. When you are processing your deer keep everything as clean as possible and work in small batches so the meat stays cold. Get it in the freezer quickly after you cut it up and you will have great meat for your meals all winter long.

Hair does ruin the flavor of the meat. It has bacteria and other things that change the taste and quality, not to mention being hard to get off. A professional butcher showed me the neat trick of burning the hair off with a propane torch. Evaporates hair on the spot and won't burn or harm the meat if done right.

After skinning, I always burn the hair off, then rinse the meat with vinigar, let it air dry, then bag it. Vinigar is a natural disinfectant and forms a protective barrier on the meat that helps repel flies and such until you get it home for processing.

Most important things in field dressing in my opinion are get the meat chilled out as soon as possible and keep it clean as much as possible given field conditions.

Does anyone have a recommendation on a good field dressing video? I've never done that, not afraid to try, but would like some good instruction.

Also, does anyone have any experience with the 10 Minute Deer Skinner? If so, what's your opinion?

Thank you,

John

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The next one I get I will have my self on video. The way I do it makes it really easy. And yes I gut my deer. I also have a long standing determinaition
that from the time that the animal is shot till it is hung should be less than 2 hours. I will let you all know when I get it.